Community

Welcoming Babies, by Margy Burns Knight

Publisher: Tilbury House, Gardiner, Maine, 1994.

There are as many ways to welcome babies to the world as there are cultures. We sing, kiss, bless, name, announce, celebrate, give gifts, and honor the births of our youngest ones with
dignity and joy. Warm, gentle pictures enhance the simple text of this story which brings together
many ways of welcoming.

Grandpa’s Town, by Takaaki Nomura.

Publisher: Kane/Miller Book Publishers, Brooklyn, New
York, 1991.

Told in both Japanese and English, this story of a young Japanese boy, worried that his
grandfather is lonely, accompanies him to the public bath. Their walk through the town is an
expedition filled with meeting friends, visiting, and sharing the best of Grandpa’s community.
All The Colors of the Earth, by Sheila Hamanaka. Publisher: Morrow Junior Books, New York,
1994.

Mama Zooms by Jane Cowen-Fletcher.

My Buddy by Audrey Osofsky.

Buddy is “the best dog a boy could have”. The first-person narrative shows the desire of
differently abled child to be independent and treated like everyone else.

The Streets are Free, by Kurusa.

Publisher: Annick Press Ltd., New York, 1995.

Based on the true story of the children of a barrio in Caracas, Venezuela, who wanted a place to
play, the story depicts how the children met, decided how to approach “City Hall”, and what they
did when confronted with discouragement. It is a story of building community and speaking out.

The Day Gogo Went to Vote: South Africa, April, 1994, by Elinor Batezat Sisulu.

Publisher: Little,Brown and Company, 1996.

The Table Where Rich People Sit, by Byrd Baylor.

Publisher: Atheneum Books, New York,1994.

Two Mrs. Gibsons, by Toyomi Igus.

Publisher: Children’s Book Press, San Francisco, California,
1996.

All The Colors We Are: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color, by Katie Kissinger.

Publisher: Redleaf Press, St. Paul, Minnesota,1994.

This is a wonderful book to spark an interest in and respect for differing skin colors. An
excellent recipe is included for mixing of dry tempera paints for skin color.

I Love you Like Crazy Cakes by R. Lewis &amp; J. Dyer.

Over the Moon by K. Katz.

Responsibility

Henry Climbs a Mountain, by D. B. Johnson.

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, Co. 2003

This book takes its inspiration from Walden and “Civil Disobedience,” in which Thoreau describes
a night spent in jail. Here Henry the bear, confined to a cell after refusing to pay taxes to a state
that allows slavery, begins a fanciful adventure with his crayon and his imagination.

Stone Soup by Jon Muth.

Publisher: Scholastic, N. Y. (2003)

Three monks encounter a village where everyone has locked their windows &amp; darkened their
home, their hearts having grown hard. The monks cleverly entice the villagers to make stone
soup, and in the process they discover how much they have to give.

The Story of Ruby Bridges, by Robert Coles.

Publisher: Scholastic, Inc., New York, 1995.

For months, six year old Ruby Bridges must confront the hostility of segregationists when she
becomes the first African-American girl to integrate an elementary school in New Orleans in
1960. Robert Coles presents a moving portrayal that captures a young girl’s amazing courage
and faith.

Very Last First Time, by Jan Andrews.

Publisher: Atheneum, New York, 1985.

Working Cotton, by Sherley Anne Williams.

Caring and Compassion

Hey, Little Ant, by Phillip and Hannah Hoose.

Publisher: Tricycle Press, Berkley, CA, 1998.

“If you were me, and I were you, what would you want me to do?” This is the question the ant
asks the kid as the shoe is about to come down upon the ant! Questions of power and
perspective-taking are delivered in a delightful story.

Follow The Drinking Gourd, by Jeanette Winter.

Smoky Night, by Eve Bunting.

Honesty and Integrity

Something from Nothing: Adapted from a Jewish Folktale, by Phoebe Gilman.

Publisher: Scholastic Inc., New York, 1992.

In this retelling of a traditional Jewish folk tale, Joseph’s baby blanket is transformed into ever
smaller items as he grows until there is nothing left – but then Joseph has an idea to save the
blanket forever in his memory.

Rebel, by Allan Baillie.

Keepers, by Jeri Hanel Watts and Felicia Marshall.

Creativity and Diversity

Everybody Cooks Rice, by Norah Dooley.

Publisher: Carolrhoda, Inc./Minneapolis, 1991.

A child is sent to find a younger brother at dinnertime and is introduced to a variety of cultures
through encountering the many different ways rice is prepared at the different households she
visited. Recipes for preparing rice from several cultures are included.

Bein’ with You This Way, by W. Nikola-Lisa.

Publisher: Lee &amp; Low Books, Inc., New York,1994.

Daddy’s Roommate, by Michael Willhoite.

Publisher: Alyson Publications, Boston, Massachusetts, 1990.

Gathering the Sun: An Alphabet in Spanish and English, by Alma Flor Ada.

Roxaboxen, by Barbara Cooney.

Peace and Nonviolence

The Knight and the Dragon, by Tomie De Paola.

A knight who has never fought a dragon and an equally inexperienced dragon prepare to meet
each other in battle. The ultimate result is a delightful cooperative enterprise.

Best Day of the Week, by Nancy Carlsson-Paige.

Publisher: Redleaf Press, Minneapolis, MN, 1998.

This book can be used as a curriculum guide for elementary school grades for conflict resolution.

Shoes Like Miss Alice’s, by Angela Johnson.

Publisher: Orchard Books, New York, 1995.

Six Crows by Leo Lionni.

Publisher: Scholastic Inc. 1988.

Crows and a farmer quarrel over a wheat field. Their conflict nearly causes the demise of the wheat until a wise owl helps them
make peace.

Matthew and Tilly by Rebecca C. Jones

Publisher: Puffin Unicorn 1991.

Urban setting. Best friends experience the emotional ups and downs of relationship as they quarrel and then
reconcile.

The Lotus Seed by Tatsuro Kiuchi.

Publisher: Harcoart Brace &amp; Co (1993)

A beautifully illustrated book set in the time of the Vietnam war. A child’s grandmother leaves
her troubled land and immigrates to the U.S. She brings a lotus seed from her homeland. She
explains “It is the flower of life and hope”.

The Owl and the Woodpecker by Brian Wildsmith.

Publisher: Oxford University Press (1971)

Seemingly irreconcilable differences – the owl’s need to sleep and the woodpecker’s need to
work during the day leads to a conflict that involves the entire woodland community.

Used with permission from Thinking Together with Young Children: Weaving a Tapestry of Community by Susan
Hopkins. Additional titles by S. Davisson.

Winners of the 2003 Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards

Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards annually acknowledge books published during
the previous year in the US effectively addressing themes or topics promoting peace, social
justice, world community, and/or equality of the sexes and all races. The books must also meet
conventional standards for literacy and artistic excellence.

The winner in the Picture Book category is:

Patrol: An American Soldier in Vietnam, an unrhymed story-poem written by Vietnam veteran Walter Dean Myers and accompanied by collage artwork created by Ann Grifalconi. Published: HarperCollins Children’s Books, New York City.

One of two Honor Books in the Picture Book category is !Si, Se Puede! Yes, We Can! Janitor Strike in L.A. by Diana Cohn. Published by Cinco Puntos Press in El Paso, Texas.

The other Honor Book picture book, The Village that Vanished, is an original story set in East Africa during the years when people were being captured by slavers. Ann Grifalconi. Published by Dial Books for Young Readers, New York City.

The Same Stuff as Stars by Katherine Paterson and When My Names Was Keoko by Linda Sue Park were named Honor Books in the category of Books for Older Children. Clarion Books of New York City published both books.